Final Fantasy X-2 Developer Interview

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A week after its American release, FFX2's creative team speaks with IGN on all things YRP.

By Interview by Jeremy Dunham

Square Enix's first-ever direct sequel to a Final Fantasy title has been received with an overwhelming positivity from IGN readers; and early indications from retailers seem to tell a similar story. Though the game was definitely met by its own share of apprehension leading up to its domestic debut, reactions ever since have been quite encouraging. In fact, it's one of our favorite overall games this season and a definite must-have for RPG owners.

Because we're always on the hunt for more Final Fantasy, however, we jumped at the opportunity to indulge a rare shot at the Final Fantasy creative team and present some of our biggest questions regarding its latest sequel. Structured in a completely spoiler-free manner for those of you who haven't had the opportunity to play yet, the questions below were addressed to three of Final Fantasy X-2's heaviest hitters: Yoshinori Kitase (Producer), Motomu Toriyama (Director), and Tetsu Tsukamoto (Alternate Costume Designer). Enjoy!

IGN: For our readers not familiar with your previous experience, what are some of the projects that you and your team worked on prior to Final Fantasy X-2? And what was your involvement with the original game?

Yoshinori Kitase: I was the Producer for Final Fantasy X. My past credits include Project Planning on Final Fantasy V, and VI and Director for Final Fantasy VII and VIII.

IGN: Why was Final Fantasy X the first Final Fantasy game to be given a true sequel?

Yuna and Kimahri: two of FFX's most enduring characters meet up once again.

Kitase: We included a short story/movie titled "Eternal Calm" in FFX International, which was released in Japan in January 2002. "Eternal Calm" showed life in Spira, after the ending of the original story in FFX. Fan reaction was larger than we expected and we decided to continue the story of Yuna and surrounding characters in a sequel.

At that time, our team was ready for a new challenge (for a new game, not a sequel) but we thought that creating a sequel to FFX would still be a challenge in a different way and so we made the decision to create a sequel.

Motomu Toriyama:FFX was a "complete" product that it made it very difficult for us to just say good-bye to it. Also, the characters were so appealing that many fans wanted to see more of them. However, what really triggered us to move forward with a sequel was the inclusion of the "Eternal Calm" in FFX International (only released in Japan); a short story that depicted the world of Spira two years after the ending of the original story.

IGN: Was it always the plan to be told in this manner? As two parts or even three-parts? Or is this the result of something that happened after the game had already been released?

Kitase: No, it wasn't planned - as mentioned in the previous answer, it was triggered by fans reaction to "Eternal Calm."

Toriyama: When we were working on FFX, there were no talks about a sequel. However, after completing FFX, we thought it would be nice to create a new story in this same world some day. Personally, I wanted to create a game where one could revisit the world and the characters - say, maybe once every two or three years. So, it was quite meaningful that we were able to do a sequel with FFX-2.

IGN: Why are Rikku and Yuna's character designs so radically different from the first game?

Tetsu Tsukamoto: From a planning standpoint, I would say that the differences are due to the changes in Spira between FFX and FFX-2. FFX had more of a darker, religious feel, whereas in FFX-2, there is a huge cultural change. I think those changes are reflected in the character designs.